Tasman Mill
Encyclopedia
The Tasman Mill is a pulp and paper mill located just outside the town of Kawerau in New Zealand
. Tasman Mill is the largest single in employer in the Eastern Bay of Plenty
region. Three separate companies operate within Tasman including Norske Skog
, who operate the paper mill, Carter Holt Harvey
, who operate the pulp mill, and SCA
who manufacture tissue and base paper. A sawmill
is located on site and is also operated by Carter Holt Harvey
. The mill contributes in excess of $1billion to the New Zealand economy per annum.
. The site was chosen because of the ready availability of geothermal steam as a power source. Pulping operations were underway by 1955.
In the 1970s
a number of expansion projects took place within the mill which in turn lead to a significant increase in employees. More recently, introduction of new technology, coupled with the decline of the timber industry from 1980 onwards, has seen large scale redundancies occur across the mill. The 2,000 strong workforce of the mid-1980's had dropped to 1,200 by 1998.
The accessibility of geothermal energy recently saw the construction of an on-site 100-megawatt Geothermal power station. The plant provides cost certainty to industry operating within the mill, the second largest industrial power user in the country.
Currently Carter Holt Harvey
processes approximately 1.25 million cubic metres of wood annually, converting it into specialty bleached and unbleached pulp for use in the manufacture of paper, tissue and building products. Forty percent is subsequently sold to customers in New Zealand, primarily Norske Skog.
Today Norske Skog Tasman supplies all of New Zealand's newsprint and telephone directory requirements and also provides around thirty percent of Australia's newsprint requirements. Annual paper production is now 300,000 tonnes from the company's two paper machines. A third paper machine was recently closed in an attempt to remain competitive in the overseas market. SCA also purchases pulp from Carter Holt Harvey for manufacture of base paper for Purex
and Libra
among others.
The balance of production from both Norske Skog and Carter Holt Harvey is exported throughout Asia
and Oceania
earning export income of $224 million.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. Tasman Mill is the largest single in employer in the Eastern Bay of Plenty
Bay of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty , often abbreviated to BOP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name...
region. Three separate companies operate within Tasman including Norske Skog
Norske Skog
Norske Skogindustrier ASA or Norske Skog, which translates as Norwegian Forest Industries, is a Norwegian pulp and paper company based in Oslo, Norway and established in 1962...
, who operate the paper mill, Carter Holt Harvey
Carter Holt Harvey
Carter Holt Harvey Limited is an Australasian forest products company, with significant interests in wood products, pulp, paper and packaging. The company employs approximately 10,500 people across Australasia. Carter Holt Harvey's head New Zealand office is located at 173 Captain Springs Road in...
, who operate the pulp mill, and SCA
Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget
Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget is a Swedish consumer goods company and pulp and paper manufacturer with headquarters in Stockholm. It has approximately 45,000 employees and a turnover of approximately SEK 107 billion...
who manufacture tissue and base paper. A sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
is located on site and is also operated by Carter Holt Harvey
Carter Holt Harvey
Carter Holt Harvey Limited is an Australasian forest products company, with significant interests in wood products, pulp, paper and packaging. The company employs approximately 10,500 people across Australasia. Carter Holt Harvey's head New Zealand office is located at 173 Captain Springs Road in...
. The mill contributes in excess of $1billion to the New Zealand economy per annum.
History
In 1952 the Tasman Pulp and Paper Company established a mill to process timber from maturing stands of Radiata Pine in the state-owned Kaingaroa ForestKaingaroa Forest
Kaingaroa Forest is the largest forest in the North Island of New Zealand, and the largest plantation in the southern hemisphere.The forest covers 2900 km² in the inland East Cape and Bay of Plenty regions, and stretches south past the east coast of Lake Taupo...
. The site was chosen because of the ready availability of geothermal steam as a power source. Pulping operations were underway by 1955.
In the 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
a number of expansion projects took place within the mill which in turn lead to a significant increase in employees. More recently, introduction of new technology, coupled with the decline of the timber industry from 1980 onwards, has seen large scale redundancies occur across the mill. The 2,000 strong workforce of the mid-1980's had dropped to 1,200 by 1998.
The accessibility of geothermal energy recently saw the construction of an on-site 100-megawatt Geothermal power station. The plant provides cost certainty to industry operating within the mill, the second largest industrial power user in the country.
Currently Carter Holt Harvey
Carter Holt Harvey
Carter Holt Harvey Limited is an Australasian forest products company, with significant interests in wood products, pulp, paper and packaging. The company employs approximately 10,500 people across Australasia. Carter Holt Harvey's head New Zealand office is located at 173 Captain Springs Road in...
processes approximately 1.25 million cubic metres of wood annually, converting it into specialty bleached and unbleached pulp for use in the manufacture of paper, tissue and building products. Forty percent is subsequently sold to customers in New Zealand, primarily Norske Skog.
Today Norske Skog Tasman supplies all of New Zealand's newsprint and telephone directory requirements and also provides around thirty percent of Australia's newsprint requirements. Annual paper production is now 300,000 tonnes from the company's two paper machines. A third paper machine was recently closed in an attempt to remain competitive in the overseas market. SCA also purchases pulp from Carter Holt Harvey for manufacture of base paper for Purex
PUREX
PUREX is an acronym standing for Plutonium - URanium EXtraction — de facto standard aqueous nuclear reprocessing method for the recovery of uranium and plutonium from used nuclear fuel. It is based on liquid-liquid extraction ion-exchange.The PUREX process was invented by Herbert H. Anderson and...
and Libra
Libra
-Science and technology:* Libra , a star constellation in the sky* Libra , an ancient Roman unit of weight* Libra , a public search engine for academic papers and literature* Libra , a media cataloguing software...
among others.
The balance of production from both Norske Skog and Carter Holt Harvey is exported throughout Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and Oceania
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
earning export income of $224 million.